


A Birthday in Space

by Kei_Child_Of_The_Sea



Series: What lies with the Heart of Voltron [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Laith, M/M, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-04 05:41:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16340840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kei_Child_Of_The_Sea/pseuds/Kei_Child_Of_The_Sea
Summary: When in space it's easy to forget how much time has passed and where in the year they are, lucky for Lance he keeps track and finds out it's a certain Paladin's birthdayThis is a backstory to chapter 31 in the fic What lies within the Heart of Voltron





	1. Keith's Birthday Part 1 (Lance)

**Author's Note:**

> I first posted my first chapter ever on Lance's birthday I had to post something for Keith's so I wrote this  
> please enjoy  
> <3 Kei

Watching the stars had always been a thing Lance done to relax and calm himself down, on nights he couldn't relax he'd open his room window and climb onto the tree branches making his way to the tree house. He could picture it now, the small tree house with his star charts he copied to pin up in it's wall. However the stars now didn't seem to relax him now, he could only think that with each star he watch pass by the further away from home he was. Thinking about home he wondered if he was still keeping good track of where in the year he was at, reaching into his pocket he pulls out his little note pad he kept in this jacket, he looks at the small lines he made to keep track of the days that have passed. "October" he mumbles "it's got to be October now" the brunette stood up from his spot on the floor.

Walking back to his room he counts what date it would be in October, breaking the lines into weeks he counts 18 days into October "the 18th huh" he remarks "it's Keith's birthday soon then" he stops in his tracks at the room door of said Paladin, sighing he continues down two more doors, Keith hadn't came home in months now. "why can't he just come back for a few days" Lance mutters when his room door shuts behind him, kicking off his shoes and changing from his normal clothes to Paladin armour he glances at the red bayard. "still not used to seeing the red one" he chuckles thinking back to when Keith gave him the bayard. After the drama of finding out Zarkon had a son Lance had given Allura the blue bayard, passing the torch to her, it was hard for him to say goodbye to Blue but he knew that Allura would be a great Paladin and the pair would make a good team. 

* * * *

Lance sat in his room making some stars out of some of the paper Coran let him take, the pile grew bigger with each star he made, it was his way of coping. _**"if you make enough stars niño, you get to make a wish"**_ he could hear his Brother's voice in his head. There was a knock at the door,scrambling to his feet Lance grabs as many stars as he could and throws them into his dresser drawer "come in!" he shouts getting the drawer to shut. The door opens to reveal the new Black Paladin, scratching his arm as he slowly walk into the room. "hey Lance" he greets him without meeting his eyes, Lance turns to face him "what's wrong buddy?" he asks plopping down on his bed and pats it for Keith to sit. Taking a seat at the edge of the bed Keith keeps his eyes on the floor, the two sit in silence for a while "thank you" he finally speaks, the brunette's eyebrows knit together confused "for what?" the Black Paladin's eyes finally meet his "for what you said earlier, you were a big help back there, I just got us into danger" he admits looking down "Keith, you're new to leading there's bound to be fuck ups, the important thing is you learn from your mistakes and don't just jump into things" the new Red Paladin states in a gentle voice, giving the new team leader a smile "I'll try my best" Keith says quietly "and that's enough for us" the brunette chimes in patting Keith's back, the raven haired boy smiles "thanks Lance" he says getting to his feet.

Looking at the brunette he takes a deep breath, taking out the red bayard he holds it out to Lance "you're Red's Paladin now so you're gonna need this, take good care of him and he'll take care of you" the Black Paladin speaks in a softer tone "I know I have to step up and be the Black Paladin, but I'm glad you're the new Red Paladin and if I had to have anyone as my right hand man, I'm glad it's you Lance" he admits with a slight blush. With a huge grin Lance takes the bayard "thanks Keith" he says, the dark haired boy holds his hand out for a handshake, shaking his head fondly the brunette takes it before pulling Keith into a hug "I think a hug is just as good, you need one too" he utters, Keith freezes for a tick before relaxing, wrapping his arms around the taller Paladin his expression grows soft. Letting go Lance steps back to give Keith his space back he smiles "how about we go bug Hunk for some dinner, you've been training since we got back hours ago haven't you?" Lance asks raising an eyebrow, Keith looks down with a sheepish expression "...yes" he mumbles "thought so, come on lets get you some food, you seriously need to start taking better care of yourself" Lance says like a fretting mother. With a laugh Keith allows himself to be dragged along by the arm as Lance heads to the kitchen. Lance smiles to himself it had been too long since Keith cracked a real smile or laughed. 

* * * *

Lance enters the training deck, setting up his program he does some stretching before hitting the start button. This had become his norm, training most of his free time. However it didn't stop him feeling lonely, Hunk and Pidge were off somewhere fixing another part of the castle's tech, Allura, Shiro and Coran were currently in a meeting with Lotor, Lance didn't want to sit in on it. This was he rather do right now, training he felt himself lacking and decided to correct this by training more but training wasn't as fun as before where he could push himself an not feel it was just work, he missed Keith.  
The banter between the two of them helped Lance push himself and made it fun to train for hours, the pair started picking each other to train with in team work exercises.

Taking aim Lance shoots, dodging the incoming fire he rolls along the ground, quickly taking aim again with one knee propped up he fires again taking out most of his targets. Just as he's about to hit the final target, ready to advance to a higher level the drones drop back into their compartments. "what the quiznak!" he hisses turning to see Coran his anger subsides greatly "Coran? what's up?" he asks getting to his feet and putting his bayard away. "Lance my boy I have a favour to ask" the Altean man says standing stiffly "what can I do for you?" Lance asks taking his helmet off and making his way to the orange haired man "I have to go to this planet to talk to the chief since they don't like making alliances through a screen and I want you to come with me, I think it will be a good opportunity for you to try out your diplomatic skills" Coran states, with a small smile plastered on his face Lance nods "sure when do we leave?" "now" Coran answers, taking hold of the Paladin's arm and starts walking "whoa whoa wait a tick" Lance protests, Coran turns to him looking confused "what's wrong?" he questions "well I've just done some training mind if I go freshen up, you know so I don't stink at a meeting" Lance retorts, with a nod the Altean man lets him go "be ready within the varga Lance, I'll meet you at the Red Lion" he calls with a cheery voice as he makes his way down the hall. With a deep sigh Lance starts walking to his room, to shower, actually breaking out his skin care routine after so long and try and unwind before having to pilot Red and work on getting Voltron some more allies. 

* * * *

Touching down of the surface of the planet Lance follows Coran out, wearing his usual smile. Meeting the chief and starting their diplomatic meeting, Lance does his best to ensure that the Coalition gains these allies. When it was over the Red Paladin felt weight lifting from his shoulders, he and Coran were given the chance to have a tour, taking this opportunity to have a look at new place and possibility look for a gift for Keith's birthday he followed the young alien boy out of the building. Looking around the beautiful landscape Lance lets himself relax a little, the sky was a light shade of purple, the grass was bluey green and the people looked close to humanoid cats. 

The young boy lead Lance through the market place, telling him about their culture's foods, drinks and sweets. Stopping at the stall Lance scans it for anything that would stick out to him. What would I even get you Keith? what you do like apart from knives and training? he thinks to himself humming as he taps his foot off the ground. After the fifth stall his eyes spot a pair of fingerless gloves, thinking how Keith's gloves were starting to fall apart he walked over to the stall picking up the gloves he nods, they looked a lot like his gloves and it would probably be a gift he'd like. "Excuse me, Miss" he calls out the the woman, turning to face him the cat like alien's ears twitch "yes dear?" she replies "how much are these?" he asked holding up the gloves "they are 20 G.A.C but since I see you're a Paladin of Voltron I'll give you them for 5" the brunette blinks a few times "are you sure Miss? I can pay the-" "no,no I'm sure dear 5 G.A.C" she cuts him off taking the gloves to put in a bag, Lance takes the money out the little pouch he keeps in his armour "anything else dear?" she asks "no I'm good I just wanted to get my friend a birthday present" he answers handing over the money "your friend's birthday huh?" the woman remarks taking the gloves out the bag and ducks down, she returns to her full height with a small box "gifts should have a nice box or wrapping to put them in" she says sitting the gloves into it and wrapping a red ribbon on it "how much for the gift wrapping?" Lance asks only to be met with a shake of the head "no charge, I hope your friend likes them dear, have a nice day" she says waving him off "thank you so much!" Lance says with a real smile forming "have a good day Miss" he calls running to the guide. Slipping the small box into his armour he waits till after he returns to the castle and heads to his room to put it into his dresser drawer, the pile of stars he uses to cover them. 

 

* * * *

The Red Paladin woke up on the day he counted to be the 22nd, spending the day as usual till he had to go into battle, form Voltron, win and come back to the castle. It was gotten so much later than he expected when he went to pick up his device to contact the grumpy Paladin. Once connected to the Blades he greets Kolivan with a smile "hey Kolivan" the Blade leader greets him with his usual expression but tries to soften it "Lance, hello is this a problem?" he questions "no, no problems I was just wondering if Keith was around, or if he'd be near the castle tomorrow" Kolivan hums thinking "sorry Lance but he's currently out on a Intel gathering mission he won't be back till late, is there a reason?" the Galra man inquires further "well since I left Earth I've tried to keep track of the days and that so if I'm correct it's Keith's birthday tomorrow but if he's busy I can always wait till the next time I see him...but could I ask a favour?" Kolivan looks at him for a moment with an unreadable expression "go on" he states "could you wish him a happy birthday from me and the others and tell him that we miss him" Lance asks scratching his cheek, with a small smile Kolivan nods "I will but I must warn you I might forget if something happens, but I will try my best" the Garla man says, earning a smile from the brunette "thanks Kolivan, stay safe out there" he says waving "same to you Lance, take care" he says raising his hand in a motionless wave.

Placing down the device, Lance sighs "looks like you won't be getting your present anytime soon buddy, I hope Kolivan remembers" he thinks out loud, getting ready for bed he glances at the communicating device again. "I'll try getting a hold of him tomorrow, it is his birthday tomorrow anyway" he mumbles climbing into bed. 

* * * *  
The thing with being a Paladin of Voltron is that plans you make never seem to work out for you, something always has to fuck up, today had to be the day Lance ended up in a healing pod. 

The mission was simple enough, sneak onto the Garla ship, let Pidge hack and get the information they needed while watching her back. Using Shiro's hand to hack into the Garla tech, Lance could hear her typing. He and Hunk watched the area as Allura kept an eye out from her Lion "guys you've got incoming for your left" the Princess's voice came through the comms "ten-four Allura" Lance says quietly, bringing his sniper rifle up to his eye to take aim, he walks slowly and quietly to the end of the hall before it splits into a fork. The brunette waits in silence as he hears metal boots hit the floor as the sentries march, looking back to Hunk he signals him to get ready. Just as the Red Paladin goes to move forward to shoot, Allura lets out a scream "LANCE YOU NEED TO GET AWAY FROM THEM, PIDGE WE DON'T HAVE TIME THEY HAVE A BOMB IN THEIR CHEST! GET OUT OF THERE!" the brunette's eyes widen as he pushes Hunk back as the pair ran back to the room Pidge and Shiro where in. Gritting his teeth he looked for the best way out "ok guys, I can draw them off you to get you to sneak past and get to your Lions, I'll take the back up route we made and meet you there" Lance starts as he peeks out the door "Lance that's insane you could get hurt or die" Shiro counters "well we're kinda stuck here, I'll be fine they will chase me and would blow up till they think I'm closer to you guys so get your asses moving when I start running down the hall to the right" the brunette says already out the door.

The others never got the chance to argue when they got to the door they peeked out watching the Red Paladin jump out at the sentries and takes off running as the robotic soldiers shot at him "COME GET ME YOU BASTARDS" Lance shouted his running foot steps smack the metal flooring as he sprints, the sound fades the further he got, the team take the chance to run making it to the point of the ship where the Lion were left. From another part of the ship Hunk could hear explosions, fearing the worse he took off towards the noise "Hunk!" Pidge and Shiro shout after him "Lance could be hurt!" he screams back at them. The three run towards the blast to be met with the Red Paladin walking towards them slowly holding his arm before they got the chance to scold him he aims his gun towards them "duck!" he screams complying the three Paladins drop, hearing the sound of blaster shots hitting something, before they could process what's happened they hear Lance let out a scream. Hunk is first at his side "Lance! oh God he's been shot!" the Yellow Paladin says in a panic "calm down Hunk, I'll be fine" Lance mutters, Shiro lifts the young Paladin up "we're leaving come on" he barks running to his Lion. "good idea, cause I saw a timer on another sentry we have five doboshes" Lance manages to say through gritted teeth.

The trip back to the castle was a blur, he sat against the wall in the Black Lion as Shiro piloted, scooping up the Red Lion they took off flying as fast as they could. The Galra ship explodes as Lance said within the five doboshes.

 

Hours had gone past as he healed, stumbling out he is caught by Hunk. Looking up at the larger boy he blinks "what happened?" he asks confused "oh dude I thought that you were gonna die back there but you were acting like a mad man! what where you thinking running off like that?! You ended up getting shot in the chest Lance! it was scary don't do that again!" Hunk warns him through his panic. "glad you're ok big guy" Lance says earning a fond smile from the Yellow Paladin "I'm glad you're buddy, come on you need to eat" Hunk says pulling Lance along "wait can I change first?" earning a nod Lance makes his way to his room and changes while Hunk made his way to the kitchen. 

 

Taking this chance Lance picks up the communicator and types in Keith's code, he waits for a few minutes, Keith appears on the screen "hey Lance I'm a little busy right now, what's wrong?" he asks "nothing's wrong Keith I just wanted to call you to say happ-" Lance gets cut off by a blaring alarm, Keith's eyes widen "shit, sorry Lance I've gonna go I'll try to contact you soon bye" the dark haired boy says quickly in an annoyed tone before ending the call. "ok bye.." Lance mutters, throwing the device down onto his bed he scowls "Happy Birthday Keith" he mumbles getting to his feet, existing his room he walks to the kitchen, just as he goes to hit the panel he plasters on his usual smile. "hey there buddy, what's cookin'" he says dramatic as he takes a seat on the counter. "I'm making what I think I can say is close to chilli" Hunk states holding a spoon out to the Red Paladin "cool" Lance remarks taking a bite. The two sit talking for a while and Lance felt his mood lifting, it felt like the good old days in the Garrison. "Hunk have you seen my laptop? I need to check something" came Pidge's voice "oh it's in my room remember I borrowed it before we went out to check that ship" Hunk answered "thanks" Pidge says moving back out the room "what you working on?" Hunk called, Pidge answered with tech talk Lance couldn't understand and he didn't even ask since he was brushed off last few times. As usual Hunk went after Pidge to help, leaving Lance with his dinner to eat on his own. Lance had given up on trying to help or sit with the pair when they were working, he was annoying and didn't know how to help so he worked on his shooting and trying to build up on hand to hand combat.

He takes his bowl with him as he walks to his usual hiding spot in a corridor no one uses and watches the stars again. Taking a few spoonfuls of his food he sighs "I hope you come home soon Samurai, it's lonely here, I'm sorry you've felt this way a lot" he says out loud. "next year I'll make sure your with us to celebrate" he mumbles, he hums to himself the same song he always sings when feeling homesick, closing his eyes he stops humming. His lips form a small smile as he begins to hum the Happy Birthday song.

"...Happy Birthday dear Keith, Happy Birthday to you"


	2. Keith's Birthday (Keith)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith's daily life as Blade member

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Through out the last chapter when Lance had noticed Keith's birthday was drawing closer Keith hadn't a clue, this was the lead up to his brithday.
> 
> Happy Birthday to Keith our Radient Red boy!

Opening his eyes and getting up, Keith starts his day as usual, dropping to the floor to do some push ups, sit ups followed by a quick shower. This has been his daily routine for the pass two months, wincing at the newest bruise forming on his side he puts on some of the medical cream he was given by Kolivan. Changing into his usual Marmora suit he heads to the mess hall for some food, just as he takes his first bite Kolivan sits in front of him sliding over his tablet to show the newest mission. "when?" Keith says instead of a greeting, the Galra man finishes his mouthful before answering "today, they leave in three Vargas if you're wanting to go on this one" the dark haired boy nods "yup" he mutters digging into his breakfast. "Keith?" Kolivan calls drawing the boy's attention, cocking an eyebrow Keith signals him to continue as his mouth was still full. "I know this is war and all but when was the last time you contacted the Paladins?" the blade leader questioned, furrowing his brows Keith hums "A few Movements ago or maybe it's been a Phoeb now" young boy answered with a shrug.

 

 

 

 

 

Kolivan hums picking up his spoon again "maybe you should get into contact with them soon, let them know you're ok" he suggests Keith shakes his head "their busy and so I am, if they were so worried I would of been contacted" he states trying to keep the bitterness out his voice. The leader looks at him confused before smacking his forehead "oh Quiznak!" he curses earning a concerned look for Keith "I knew kept forgetting something" Keith raises an eyebrow "that Paladin in blue, Lance right?" he asks earning a nod from the young blade member "he's been contacting us every so often to ask for you but you've been away and I kept forgetting to tell you, sorry Keith" the Garla man admits, Keith shrugs keeping a expressionless face but he felt a warmth in his stomach so he does care the young blade member thought as he scrapes his bowl clean, taking his last bite. "I'm gonna go meet up with Thalia, go over the mission" he announces getting to his feet and putting his bowl and spoon down with the other dirty dishes. "see you later Kolivan" he nods walking to the door "see you later Keith" the the blade leader says with a nod, a small smile forms on his lips as he watches the young blade leave, he could see his spirits had lifted.

 

 

 

 

 

* * * *

 

 

 

 

Like all Blade missions risks where taken, Keith winces as Thalia bandages his leg a little too tight. The Garla woman whispers an apology before rising to her feet "take it easy Kid, we'll be back in the base soon then we'll get you fixed up" she says moving to help the next person. Keith nods, closing his eyes of course I'd end up being stabbed with a poisonous blade, who else would? he curses himself internally. Luck for him Thalia is quick on her feet, taking out the general with the poison before she uses her belt as a tourniquet, once the chaos calmed down she had made him drink something that he can say that it's smell reminded him of petrol. Chocking that down Keith forced himself to keep walking, to make it back to the base, he wasn't dying before he saw his family once again. It had been a tough mission but he bares with the pain till they get back, it's only another five Vargas he could handle it till then. Keith spends most of the journey back going from sitting to standing battling the pins and needle numbness of the poisonous stab wound. Opening his eyes when the touch down in the base he's lead to the infirmary, he chuckles to himself as he's been here many times. 

 

 

 

Once patched up he makes his way to his room, dropping on to his bed he lets out a muffled groan. turning to lie on his back he looks up at the ceiling, despite the throbbing pain in his leg he smiles "so Lance has tried to get a hold of me huh" he says talking to himself, sitting up I should try and get a hold of him and explain that Kolivan kept forgetting to pass on that he called the raven haired boy thinks reaching for his communicator, typing in Lance's communicator code he waits. The device rings out till the screen lights up again with the call unable to connect, Keith furrows his brows "odd" he mutters setting it down "I'll try again later" he shrugs lying back down with a loud yawn. "a nap then I'll try again, if that fails contact the castle" he murmurs to himself as his eyes slide shut.

 

 

 

 

* * * *

 

 

 

 

 

Keith awoke to the sound of the alarm blaring, throwing on his suit and grabbing his blade from under his pillow he runs to the control room. "Kolivan? what's going on?" Keith asks as he stops in his usual spot, the Garla man turn to him with a grim look "the Garla know we're here we have to get out within the next Varga or this place of going up in smoke with us still in here, grab everything you need and get moving" he orders as other Blades started heading to their rooms to grab their belongings and others gathering up their Intel and running to the ships and loading them up. Keith had been lucky enough to leave everything in the castle but he did have a few things he collected that he wanted to save, running back to his room he stops at his bed, pulling out the small box from under his bed he opens it to check, a few crystal like stones he found and a strikingly deep blue stone with cord woven around it to make it into a necklace he bought one day was still there, he smiles. Grabbing a few spare suits and picking up his communicator and taking one last look around his room he nods "that's everything" he confirms making his way to one of the ships.

 

 

 

 

 

The dark haired boy, watched from the window as the base grew smaller then he grits his teeth as he watches the place explode, he could hear some of the others let out gasps as they watched the only place they could call home go up in smoke. This was one of the things he hated about being a Blade, you had to keep going without looking back whether it was places or people, Keith knows everyone here isn't cold hearted but the war has took a toll on them, it was how they were raised and lived. Keith knows all this and had lived that before as a child but since Shiro took him in his attitude was slowly changing but when he thought Shiro died on the Kerberos mission he fell back into his old ways of living, it was when he became a Paladin did his attitude change quickly and when he thought he lost Shiro again he didn't get the chance to go back to his old habit, Lance kept him included, Lance made sure he kept going and when he accepted him as the leader even when Keith didn't accept it himself. It made him think about something bigger, he had people that needed him, he still does and that's one of the reasons he gave up being the Black Paladin, he could still fight the Galra as a Blade and it made sure that Lance didn't have to worry about not being a Paladin, Keith let a small smile form on his lips, Lance is what Voltron needs.

 

 

 

 

* * * *

 

 

 

 

Settling into his new room Keith puts the box under his bed and throws his spare suits into the cupboard. The young Blade member is just about to peel off his suit when there's a knock on the door, Thalia walks in before he could respond "we're going on a Intel gathering mission in half a Varga" she announces "okay I'll be ready, meet you at the ship for debriefing" he responds automatically, turning on her heels the Garla woman leaves. Keith looks down at his communicator "it's still early there but Lance might be awake" he thinks out loud as he types the code in again, he waits. The call was answered by a familiar face smiling at him, just not the face he was expecting "Hey Keith, how are you doing buddy?" Shiro asked, smiling Keith greets him "hey Shiro, I'm good I was looking for Lance I heard he's been trying to get a hold of me" the leader of Voltron cocks an eyebrow "he has? oh, um well, Lance is currently training, I'll get him to call you back yeah?" Keith nods, listening to hear the sound of gun shots in the background, yup sounds like he's working hard he thinks with a smile. "okay, it's good to see you Shiro" Shiro smiles at him "you too Keith, stay safe out there" "you too, tell Lance I won't be able to answer him till tomorrow" Keith says earning a nod from his brother, the pair sign off, once the screen goes blank the raven haired boy's smile drops, setting down the device he starts walking to the ship. 

 

 

 

 

 

* * * *

 

 

 

 

Keith storms into his room after returning from the mission, slamming his back against the wall he finally lets his expression go from unreadable to borderline crying. He slides down the walk and hugs his knees, grinding his teeth. "Idiot, you fucking idiot!" he curses at himself. The mission was meant to be a simple get in, get the information needed and get out but when does anything go that easy? While Keith stood guard another Blade member was spotted down the hall, in his attempts to help back them up he moved from his spot leaving Thalia on her own as she hacked into the main frame. This lead to a full scale attack, the other Blade member lost his life not long into the battle. Thalia had taken heavy fire and it doesn't look good, while Keith made it out with a few scrapes and bruises. "....you fucking idiot" he mutters again, he's seen many people lose their lives here, his fear is that he becomes too cold and used to this. What if this happens to the others, what if this happens to Shiro and Lance? his mind goes into dark thoughts as he thinks more about his missions what will you do when you need to put their lives over yours? came the thought "I'll give mines up without a thought, that's a stupid question" he mumbles, wiping his tears. "come on Keith, don't let this get to you, you need to keep going. Get up, get cleaned up and get some sleep. Then see about taking a break and going back to the castle for a bit" he says trying to motivate himself.

 

 

 

Peeling off his blood caked suit he enters the shower, letting the water wash over him he finds a moment of peace. Picking up the shampoo bottle he washes the blood out his hair, grimacing at the dry chunks of blood he frowns, it was one thing when it's his own blood but washing the blood of your allies off made his stomach churn. Once he's done cleaning himself up he changes into a clean suit, and climbs onto his bed. Tucking his knife under his pillow he lets his eyes slide close "wish I could sleep more than two or three hours" he complains with a yawn.  
When sleep finally took him he milked it for all it was worth, no one came to get him for training, no one came to get him for breakfast, no one came to check on him. 

 

 

 

Rolling out of bed and heading to the mess hall Keith find out it's past lunch, grabbing himself a tray of food and walks out no sparing a glance to anyone sitting at the tables. Taking a longer route to his room he peeks into the infirmary, Thalia lay on the bed still unconscious, biting his lip he turns and walks back to his room at a faster pace, his hair covering his eyes to hide the true emotions he's feeling from the other Blade members he passes. Slamming his tray down on the table in his room he takes a seat on the bed, his mind working a million miles ahead of him. How many times was he going to be the cause of other's injuries or deaths? If he returns to the Paladins how long till one of them dies? he grits his teeth at the thought, picking up his spoon he forces himself to eat. "you should of died back there" he mutters to himself "you should of died that day Lotor showed up with that ship" he hisses, his hand flies up to his mouth after uttering those words. His vision blurs with tears filling his eyes as he drops his spoon shaking. "I didn't mean that...I didn't mean that...I.." he says over and over again like it was a mantra. The raven haired Blade sat there shaking for what felt like an eternity, his mind thought back to his father, it was also his fault that he died. Keith's mind kept going darker, as he thought of how he's caused many people their lives. 

 

 

 

 

The dark thoughts swirled around and around in his mind. I need to get out of here, I need to breathe, I want to go back to the castle for even one day he thought I want to see Shiro, I want to see Lance he found himself thinking again of the Red Paladin. Hours had past by as Keith sat there fighting the demons in his head, his attention was drawn to the sound of beeping. Looking around he spots the communicator glowing, lifting it to see who's calling him the hopeful flutter dies in his chest when he sees Kolivan's name, hitting the answer button he greets the leader "hello Kolivan, what's up?" he asks the Garla man scans Keith's face before trying to soften his expression "I wanted to check on you but I've been on a mission so I didn't get the chance to, how are you holding up?" he asks the young boy, blinking a few times Keith's shoulders relax a tiny bit "I'm fine Kolivan" he responds automatically, the older man hums giving him a look of I don't believe you "are you sure?" the leader tries to pry, he's only meant with a sharp nod of the half human. In defeat Kolivan decides to drop it "ok, I'm almost back at the base. I will be training you in a short while, get some rest, food and I'll be at the training deck in three Vargas" you're just like your mother, so I'll help you get this out with using your strength and energy Kolivan thought, Keith nods.

 

 

 

 

 

* * * * 

 

 

 

 

 

Following Kolivan's orders Keith eats and rests for a while, when he gets up and changed he heads towards the door to show up to training early as usual his communicator beeps again. Turning to the table he sees Lance's smiling face light up the screen, he would welcome the brunette's calming aura anytime but right now he needed someone to fight. Hitting the answer button he keeps his face neutral as Lance appears on the screen "hey Lance I'm a little busy right now, what's wrong?" he asks trying to sound casual "nothing's wrong Keith I just wanted to call you to say happ-" Lance gets cut off by a blaring alarm, Keith's eyes widen really?! now?! I finally get a chance to talk to him come on!!!! Keith curses loudly in his mind "shit, sorry Lance I've gonna go I'll try to contact you soon bye" the dark haired boy says quickly in an annoyed tone, hanging up he throws his communicator onto the bed as he bolts out the door. There better be a damn good reason I had to hang up on that boy Keith thinks.

 

 

 

 

Skidding to a halt Keith's eyes widen at the screen, large war ships from the Garla Empire are displayed on the screen glowing a bright purple hue around them as the scanner results on screen can't lock on to the energy levels. "what is that?" he questions earning the others in the room to look at him "that's what we need to find out, everyone prepare to leave in the next five doboshes" he barks "this could be an attack on the planets near by" Keith follows Kolivan once orders where given out, just as Keith went to climb aboard a ship Kolivan grabbed hold of his hood "whoa, whoa, no you don't" he says placing Keith back on the ground, the human boy looks at him confused "what?" Kolivan shakes his head "you are to stay here and recover I can see your limping, your leg injury is not healed yet" he states pointing at Keith's leg "but I'm fi-" "no you are not, your mind is not ready for another mission so soon, look after those who are in worse condition than you and keep watch in case the Garla have found this place too so we can get everyone out safely" he orders, Keith wants to argue but he can't find a reason to, the idea of jumping into another fight was draining, with a small frown he nods "roger that" he says turning away from the ship and walking back to the control room. Kolivan frown climbing on board "you're getting soft in your old age" came the voice of another Blade "maybe so but he's just going to get himself killed if he goes into battle the way he is right now" the leader replies taking his seat. "I think you're just sweet on him cause he's Krolia's son, she was one of your favourites" the Blade member whispers, Kolivan chuckles "what can I say she was talented" the mask behind the Blade member fades as she chuckles "that and the fact she's a member of your family by blood" Kolivan nods "I didn't have children of my own but my sister did, I didn't know how to be a parental figure when she died leaving Krolia on her own at young age so I trained her to be a blade member" the Galra woman hums "you did your best, now enough of this mushy stuff we have a mission" she states earning a nod from the Blade leader.

 

 

 

 

* * * * 

 

 

 

 

Keith sat in the control room with two other blades, Perrian and Kana, the two where nice enough but Keith mostly keeps to himself. Kana lets out a deep and loud sigh "that's it!" she shouts stomping over to him "Keith!" startling the dark haired boy he grabs his knife, lowering it he looks away from her "sorry" she waves him off "you need to get that leg sorted again I can smell the blood from over there" she complains "do all Earthlings take such terrible care of themselves?" Keith blinks at her "what's that suppose to mean" he retorts "you don't take care of yourself and your body's been taking a beating, those Paladin friends of yours I've seen them in the background getting injured left, right and centre and don't get me started on the Paladin in blue" she speaks dramatically "Lance? what's happened to him?" he questions "oh he has to always play the hero, last time I saw him he was shot in the leg and kept walking like it didn't even as much a tickle him" the young Galra informs him, Keith frowns "how long ago was that?" she hums "few Quintants ago I think" getting to his feet he leaves the room "going to get some medical attention and rest?" she calls after him but Keith doesn't reply. He continues to walk till he ends up at his room, dropping on to his bed he picks up the communicator. "how long have I been away from the team? how long has it been since we left Earth?" he wonders "have we missed anyone's birthday? was I this with them on mine? or am I spending it by myself again...?" he sighs "I should try and keep in contact with them" furrowing his brows "why is it just Lance that's trying to talk to me? why isn't Shiro doing his usual big brother thing and checking up on me?" his face drops for a moment "stupid he's just busy and he won't want to try and talk to me in case I'm on a mission" he reasons, a small smile forms on his lips "at least Lance is trying, maybe he's with Shiro when he calls" he nods "that's got to be it" he says getting the blue stone necklace, clasping it in his hands he lies down "that's got to be it" he repeats curling up, slowly drifting off. "I'm sure we can all celebrate what we've missed when this is all over" he murmurs before letting sleep take him once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sadly Keith didn't know it was his birthday and let it pass him by as another day

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to have a little more story behind the gloves Lance got Keith and to write something about Keith's time as a Blade.


End file.
